Oakland, CA Tries to Educate Residents through Trash Bin Audits

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): A recent state law, SB 1383, requires California cities to conduct annual waste audits—distinct from CWS’ regular program. The first such Oakland audit happened over one week in November 2022, and another is coming this fall. “Organics like food scraps, yard trimmings, paper, and cardboard make up half of what Californians dump in landfills,” the state says about the law. Composting that waste instead “will have the fastest impact on the climate crisis,” reducing methane emissions.

Oakland had some leeway in deciding what these annual audits would look like. The city made the decision to conduct curbside audits, observing the contents of residential and commercial trash, recycling, and compost bins. Not only does the city evaluate whether inappropriate items have been disposed of in the recycling or compost, but auditors also look at whether there’s organic or recyclable material in the trash bin.

This was a “shift” in the city’s approach and messaging, said Rebecca Parnes, Recycling Program Specialist for the city. “It’s a mental reframing to think of garbage as ‘contaminated’ if there are things that could be composted,” Parnes said. “We haven’t communicated in that way before. But it’s a more holistic review.” The auditors who hit the streets in November, rummaging in the 2% of waste bins randomly selected for the program, placed what they called an “Oops! tag” that spelled out which items were put in the wrong cans. If the contents were sorted accurately, the owner received a “Good job! tag,” encouraging them to keep up the diligent disposal.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com